WFDF included in the list of applicant IFs for additional events at the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games

12 June 2015

The World Flying Disc Federation is pleased to announce that it was accepted by the Tokyo Organising Committee of the Olympic and Paralympic Games as one of 26 International Federation (IF) to be considered in round two as a potential additional sport on the Olympic Programme to be chosen by the hosts at the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games.

Recommendation 10 of Olympic Agenda 2020 approved by the IOC in December 2014 allows Organising Committees for the Olympic Games (OCOGs) to make a proposal for the inclusion of one or more additional events on the Olympic Programme for that edition of the Olympic Games. This principle applies for the first time for the 2020 Olympic Summer Games and consequently the Tokyo Organisers had invited all IOC 33 recognised International Federations (IFs) with summer events to submit their application in the first round.

The selection procedure is set out to be fair and open and will conclude after two separate phases. The following key principles apply to the examinations of all the applications made by the Additional Event Program Panel. The additional event(s) should:
• promote the Olympic Movement and values with a particular focus on youth;
• add value to the Games by engaging new global audiences,
• reflect the Tokyo 2020 vision, and
• engage the Japanese Population.

The now published list of 26 applicant IFs will be examined by the Additional Event Program Panel of Tokyo 2020 based on evaluation criteria which were established by the IOC Executive Board during their meeting on 8 June 2015 as a guideline for OCOGs covering five main themes: Olympic proposal, value added to the Olympic Games, institutional matters, popularity, and business model. Tokyo’s final choice of events to be proposed to the IOC will be made by 30 September 2015. The final decision on which new event will feature in the Olympic Programme of the Olympic Games Tokyo 2020 will be made by the 129th IOC Session in Rio de Janeiro in August 2016.

“The World Flying Disc Federation has proudly and gladly accepted the invitation extended by the Tokyo Organising Committee of the Olympic and Paralympic Games to apply for inclusion of a Flying Disc sport at the 2020 Olympic Games as an additional event,” stated WFDF President Robert “Nob” Rauch. “This is a unique opportunity for WFDF, JFDA as our member association and all disc sports in Japan and Flying Disc sports globally. We are confident that we were able to make a compelling proposal given our youth appeal, value added through “spirit of the game,” gender equality, and rapid growth of the sport. We believe our great sport can be a positive contributor to the Olympic Games and are excited about the prospects to be in a dialogue for consideration.”

“We hope that the fantastic World Ultimate and Guts Championships which were successfully staged in 2012 in Sakai were witnessed in Japan as proof of our event quality and noticed by the sporting authorities in Tokyo. The sporting success of Japan’s team, with Team Japan winning the Gold Medal in the Women’s division in Sakai in 2012, speaks for itself. Having our member association Japan Flying Disc Federation (JFDA) getting recognized by the Japan Olympic Committee (JOC) last year should also be a positive.”

Latest WFDF Communiques

The World Flying Disc Federation (WFDF) has received today the official notification by Paris 2024 that Flying Disc was not selected as an additional sport for the 2024 edition of the Olympic Games.

Paris 2024 Sport Director Jean-Philippe Gatien wrote to WFDF President Rauch that “after careful consideration, the Paris 2024 Executive team has reached a final decision” and that Flying Disc “has not been selected to be put forward to the IOC to become a part of the Olympic Games 2024 sports programme.”

The sports of Surfing, Skateboarding, Sport Climbing, and Breaking were selected by Paris 2024 as additional sports to be put forward to the IOC for approval, as was announced at their Press Conference in Paris this morning.

The World Flying Disc Federation (WFDF), the international sports federation recognized by the IOC that is responsible for world governance of flying disc (frisbee) sports, is seeking one or two individuals to serve as an Event Coordinator (50%) and Administrative Coordinator (50%) to support the growth of our expanding organization. The positions contemplate a part-time (50%) consultancy opportunity for each position, although an individual with the right qualifications could be considered for both areas in a full-time consultancy position. The positions are virtual and so the applicant would need to demonstrate access to the office equipment required to perform the job.

The World Flying Disc Federation Board (WFDF) Executive Committee, Board members, Committee and Commission Chairs, Continental Representatives and staff come together for two and a half days of strategic discussions that will set the tone for Flying Disc for years to come.

“We are thrilled to have the opportunity to bring together a team of twenty WFDF board and key staffers for intense and productive discussions in New York City at our board meeting and strategic planning session this weekend,” stated WFDF President Robert “Nob” Rauch. “The WFDF board and staff are located across 12 different countries across global time zones and getting together primarily occurs during our monthly board meetings via a conference call. The 30 hours of meeting time this weekend significantly increases the productivity of discussions, reduces time in making decisions, and improves the work input, while building on the strength and comradeship of the WFDF key heads, making this meeting very important. ”

WFDF’s mission statement “to support and promote the global advancement of disc sports and spirit of the game” will be top of mind in all discussions as the group takes direct input and feedback from key representatives from multiple continents representing all the different Flying Disc Sports: Ultimate, Beach Ultimate, Disc Golf, Freestyle, Guts and Individual Overall Sports.

The World Flying Disc Federation (WFDF), in cooperation with the Professional Disc Golf Association (PDGA), is releasing the second edition of the world rankings for disc golf by country. USA remain the top ranked team in the world, followed by Canada, Finland, New Zealand and Estonia.The criteria for ranking countries are a combination of performance at WFDF World Team Disc Golf Championships and the PDGA ratings for top male and female players.

“The second edition of the WFDF World Disc Golf Rankings marks another significant step forward for WFDF members and countries affiliated with PDGA,” said Charlie Mead, the WFDF Disc Golf Committee chair.“As the criteria for ranking becomes known to the wider disc golf-playing world, National Associations are focusing their attention on how to move up the list. The inclusion of more women and juniors in the calculations for some countries has made a positive difference to their position.”

The World Flying Disc Federation (WFDF) has announced the results of its 2018 elections. This comes after the international federation recognized by the IOC for Flying Disc sports had executed a major revamp of its governance structure and Board composition that had been unanimously approved by the WFDF membership in the autumn of 2018. Among other positions, the membership re-elected Robert “Nob“ Rauch as President for an additional two-year term.

“WFDF is excited about the revisions to our governance structure with the expansion of the Board of Directors, bringing in the heads of our Continental associations and formalizing several other ex-officio positions. We are also extremely pleased to have increased the number of women on the Board to seven out of the eighteen members as we continue to pursue gender equality in our goverenance structure as well as in our competitive events,”commented WFDF President Robert “Nob” Rauch.

The World Flying Disc Federation (WFDF) is pleased to announce that it has launched its new wfdf.sport domain name and related portfolio under the “.sport” domain name program initiated and managed by the Global Association of International Sports Federations (GAISF) to which WFDF belongs as a member.

“In today´s internet world of so many domain names and extensions, WFDF´s use of the wfdf.sport domain will provide much greater visibility and searchability for the Flying Disc community names. Using the strict criteria applied by GAISF enhances the legitimacy and credibility of Flying Disc‘s public communications and makes us a member of the exclusive ‘.sport‘ community,” commented WFDF President Robert “Nob” Rauch.

The World Flying Disc Federation (“WFDF”) is pleased to announce that its Congress has approved the Flying Disc Associations of Kazakhstan, Malta, Sri Lanka, and U.S. Virgin Islands as its newest Member associations, increasing WFDF’s membership to 84 national member associations.

“WFDF is proud to welcome the four new member associations to the WFDF flying disc family concluding the latest admission process overseen by our Executive Director Volker Bernardi,” commented WFDF President Robert “Nob” Rauch.

The World Flying Disc Federation (WFDF) has approved VC Ultimate as the WFDF Official Apparel Supplier and Partner for 2019-2022. VC Ultimate, based in Toronto, Canada, receives the exclusive opportunity to develop and sell selected official event merchandise and apparel for the WFDF Ultimate Championship events for the four-year term.In return, this partnership will provide benefits to the players and teams, event organizers and to WFDF. VC Ultimate will also continue to work with WFDF to develop and market WFDF-branded gear to be sold through their Canadian, American and European online stores.

The World Flying Disc Federation (WFDF) has approved Discraft as the WFDF Official Disc Supplier and Partner for 2019-2022. Discraft Inc., based in Michigan, USA, will receive the exclusive rights to produce “Official WFDF Ultimate Discs” for sale through merchandise channels and will be the supplier of the “Official Game Discs” during all WFDF Ultimate Championship events during this four-year period. It will also include sponsorship of the WFDF World Team Disc Golf and Freestyle Championships. In return, this partnership will provide benefits to both WFDF and its sanctioned event organizers. For events, Discraft will provide discounted rates on the purchase of discs for event sales and a number of official game discs. It will also provide discs and sponsorship funding to support WFDF’s development programs and general activities.

WFDF is pleased to announce that the WFDF 2020 World Masters Ultimate Championships (WMUC 2020) will be staged in Gold Coast, Australia from Saturday 5th September to Saturday 12th September 2020 at the Runaway Bay Sport Precinct. The tournament organizing committee (TOC) is WFDF member national federation the Australian Flying Disc Association (AFDA), which had hosted the WFDF 2018 World Under-24 Ultimate Championships and the WFDF 2006 World Ultimate Club Championships with great success.

“We are thrilled to receive a great bid from an experienced Tournament Organizer to host the inaugural stand-alone National Team event for masters-aged athletes following the great participation we had at the Masters Club championships held this past summer in Canada,” stated WFDF President Robert “Nob” Rauch. “It is great to showcase these masters’ athletes, and provide an opportunity for them to continue to complete at the highest level over the course of their lives. Many thanks to our tournament organizing committee, AFDA, the City of Gold Coast and Tourism Events Queensland who are working together to make WMUC 2020 a remarkable event.”